Corn husking and shredding machine



. e. A. Lownv. CORNHUSKING AND SIIREDDING MACHINE. .APPLICATION FILED IAN. 3, 1921.

1,408,304, Patented Fab. 2s, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

l AT oRNEY G. A. LOWRY. 'CORN HUSKING AND SHREDDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man 1AN.3.1921. 1 ,408,304, Patented. Feb. 28, 1922.`

a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

` INVENTOR.

G. A. L0wRY. CORN HUSKING AND SHREDDING MACHINE.

APPLICATlON FILED JAN-3,1921.

Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

1115. 5 "Plq- E Z4 44 Z, 55 z la e zo Il il' I sa, "Z* G INVENTOR. 55056,@ ,4. owex unirse STATES PATENT GFFECE.

GEORGE A. LOWRY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO BERTHA IVICNALL'Y LOWRY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AND ONE-HALF T0 A. BLAIR RIDINGT'ON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CORN HU'SKING AND SHREDDING IVIA(`JIII1\TE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (Feb. 28, 1922.

Application led January 3, 1921. Serial No'. 434,858.

To all whom t may concern.' y

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. Lower, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of- Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Corn Husking and Shredding Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accomianying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

This invention relates to a shucking and shredding machine for corn, and is particularly adapted for use in canning factories,

corn mills, and on farms for rapidly and mechanically removing the ear of corn from the shuck, cutting the butt therefrom, and shredding the sliuck so as to make it man ketable for packing, suffing and padding purposes. This invention embodies certain improvements over the application filed by George A. Lowry on the 20th day of September, 1920, Serial N o. 411,534 and patented January 31, 1922, #1,404,779. l

One feature of the invention consists in the construction of the jaws for gripping and carrying ears of corn through the machine, whereby it will not only bite off the shuck after the ear is removed, but will hold the sliuck in such a manner that it may be easily stripped off and removed from the jaws in conjunction `with an engaging mern ber for removing the but-ts therefrom.

Another feature of the invention vresides in the adjustable and yielding feeding `jaw for enabling the ear of corn to be properly fed into the machine.

. Another feature of the invention resides in a. striking arm for striking the ear of corn after it has been cut from the butt and knocking it from the shuck. The full nature ot the drawings will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

in the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 shows a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of an enlarged view of the feeding j aw. Fig. is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the machine showing the means for removing the butt from the sliuck. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the machine taken from the opposite end shown in liig. 5 showing the striking arm for removing the ear from the shuck. f*

In the drawings there is shown a machine mounted on a frame 10 supported by the legs 1l. Mounted on the cross bars of the irame 10, there are bearings 12 through which a central driving shaft 13 extends having a pulley 14 mounted on one end thereof and arranged to be driven by a. belt from any suitable source of power. Keyed to the shaft 13, there is a driving gear 15 adapted to mesh with the gears 16 keyed to the shaft 17 which is mounted in the bearings 18. Keyed on the shaft 17, there is a sprocket wheel 19 which drives an endless chain 20for ripping open the sliuck, said chain being supported at oneend by the idler sprocket 21 mounted in the bearing 22. Keyed to the shaft 13, is a worm 23 adapted to mesh with a'driving worm gear 24, which is secured to the in the bearings 26 supported by'said frame. Keyed to the shaft 25,. is a sprocket wheel V27 which drives an endless chain 28 about an adjustable-idler sprocket 29 and an end idler sprocket 30. f end of the shaft 13 from the pulley 14. isa shredding wheel 35 consisting of a plurality of shredding disks which are revolved by said shaft and pulley. The foregoing corr stitutes the mechanism of the machine by means of which all operating parts are directly driven by the pulley 14, substantially as described in my former application, Serial No. 411,534.

Mounted on an endless chain rality of toothed members 36, being rigidly secured to each link by the connecting bolts 37 thereof. @n one side vof each of the toothed or jaw members 26 are a plurality of sharp and comparatively straight and narrow teeth 38, and on. the other 'side thereof, there are provideda plurality of comparatively dull and angular teeth 39, said jaw members and teeth being so arranged that each set of teeth 39 coincides with and extends slightly between each set of teeth 38 on the adjacent jaw member. It will be obvious that asy said chain passes around the sprocket wheel, said jaw members will spread apart and open; whereas when the chain straightens out, they will close to Such an extent that said teeth willextend be- 28, are a plu one member shaft 25 mountedv tween each other, as illustrated in Fig. l. By means of Vthis arrangement of jaws, as the chain travels about the sprocket wheels, the butt ends ot the corn may be inserted between the jaw members as they `pass around the'sprocket wheel 30, and upon straightening out, the jaws willy clamp thecorn and the teeth bite through the butt so as to permit the ear ol corn to be separated therefrom, and hold the butt with the shuck thereon so as to carry it through rt-he machine 'for shredding. ln arranging the teeth as illustrated herein, the shuck will be impaled on the sharp"andnarror7 teeth 33 by the comparatively dull and more angular teethA 39, so that when the cha-in releases the sprocket wheel Q9, the butt will be held on the teeth 38 and be carried thereby, against the duller teeth 39. By means ot this arrangement, the butts may be knocked oit ot the teeth 33 and removed :trom the jaws by being carried against the bracket arms 3l mounted on one of the `tiame4 members and so arranged that the jaw members and teeth will pass between them, as illustrated inFigs. l and 5f `It is .obvious that the jaws may be arranged in other ways, whereby this same purpose may be accomplished such as omitting the teeth 39 and causing the jaw members to directly engage the butt and impale it upon the teeth 38, so long as the buttis bitten through and maintained upon the carrying chain during the remainder of the operations. y

Mounted upon the end `of the machine, as illustrated in Fig. 6, there is provided a feeding jaw consisting of two arms 32 `and 33 pivotally mounted on the support 34 secured to the trame of the machine, as shown'in Fig. 3, said jaw being in alignment with and adjacent the endless chain Q8, and so positioned that an ear of corn being placed into the mouth of the aw,will extend between. the jaw members 36 and be engaged thereby and carried from the jaw as the chain revolves. The object of the jaw is to hold the corn in the proper position for feeding it between the jaws 36,whereby the butt of the corn will be properly engaged by said jaw members. This is necessary in order that the operator will not feed the cornso far Vinto the carrying jaws that it will waste a large portion of the ear, but on the other hand, will feed it far enough in so that the butt will be iirmly held for the removal ot the corn. For this purpose, in order thatthe jaw may be properly adjusted for so feeding the corn, there is provided a laterally adjusting means consisting ot the bolts i9 and lock nuts 50, andl avert-ical adjustment ot the jaws for permitting smaller or larger portions otthe butt to be engaged therein. by the yielding ,spring 5l mounted on the guide rod which is fixedly secured `in the jaw arm 33 and entends freelythrough the aw arm`32. The .rod v52 `isnpriwided `witha nut and washer 53 against which the spring 5l will abut so as to yieldingly hold the arm 32 against the arm 33.

The corn is placedjby the4 operator on the pan 5aA and the butt end jammedin between the jaw members 32 and 33 between the carrying jaw members 36. The jaw members 36 then clamp the corn and carry it slowly along the operating portion ot the machine, and as lthe, corn passes over the chain 20, it is revolving in a clockwise direction, the teeth 55which are rigidly mounted upon said chain, engagethe shuck of the corn near the butt thereof on the under side. and rip it lon gitudinally, thereby opening the shuclrtor permitting the ear to be ultimately removed. For guarding against the teeth 55 projecting so far intothe corn as to engage and damage the grains, a table 56 is provided, mounted upon the frame by suitable brackets 156,over which the corn `passes and through which the teeth extendonly. sufiiciently to pass through the shuck, and not' far enough to engage the grains. fThis table is adjusted by raising or lowering the same by placing shims under it. After'this operation, the corn passes under the pivoted and yielding engaging plate ett). disposed at an angle, as shown in 2 and 6, and carried by the support l1 mounted on the trame: The plate 40 engages the tree portion of the'A lcorn and bends it downwardly, whereas the jaws hold the butt rigidly. As the teeth 38 and 39 have bitten through the butt 'ot'Y the corn, the ear is broken fromthe butt by this downward bending, at-'the place where the teeth have bitten in. The corn after being broken'is carried in the shriek', and upon approaching the wheel 35, the striking arm l2 strikes a blow near the butt of the corn, and knocks the earfreeii'rom the butt and cut of the shuck through the slit and opening caused by the teeth 39.

' The arm 42 is pivotally mounted at 57 on a disk 58 mounted on 'the wheel 35, and has a downwardly turned free striking end 59 in position to `strike the corn as it is carried around during the revolution of the wheel 35. The opposite end of the arm 42 is bifurcated so as to embrace and ride upon the shaft 17. Upon being struck by the `arm 42. the freed ear of corn drops down into a chute provided for the ,purpose and slides into a properv receptacle completely freed trom-the shuck and butt, which is still retained clamped in the carrying jaws.

The jaws carry the shuck, after the corn has been removed, further along the machine ,where itis first engaged by the ripping teeth 43, which extend laterally from the wheel 35, and= then by the teeth 44, and lastly by the teeth 45. The arrangement of these 'teeth is such that their points are curved and are very sharp. although the edges ofthe teeth are dull and rounded. `This causes the points Cil to pierce the shuck and by the continued movement of the teeth, to rip the shuek longitudinally of'its fiber. The teeth all are mounted at close intervals on each side of the wheel gswhereas, the teeth Llf3 and L,l5 are arranged at greater intervals and extend out from the wheel so as to engage andy rip any part of the shuck which may be spread laterally from the butt thereof. The comparatively rapid revolution of this shredding Wheel, and the slow movement of the shuck, causes the entire surface thereof to l be engaged and ripped by the teeth in such a manner that the shreds are mere threads after passing through the shredding action.

The shredded shuck is carried further along by the jaws until the shreds are cut ofl' of the butt portion of the shuck by the reyelying knife 16 mounted oii the Wheel 35. The knife 46 engages the shuek en the cutting plate if? in a scissoislike manner, and the shreds of shuck then drop down into a suitable container.

The butt of the corn still remains fixed in the awe until the aus pass over the sprocket wheel 29, when they open up. The butt, which is impaledv upon the long teeth 38, is carried thereby while it is released from the teeth 39, and as the jaw members 36 pass between the arms 31, the butt is removed from the teeth 38 and dropped into a container for that purpose.

The invention claimed is:

l. A corn husking and shredding machine including a gripping and carrying` chain having means for biting through the corn ear and carrying it through the machine, means for removing the corn ear from the husk and shredding said husk, and means for engaging and positioning the cern ear with respect to said gripping members, whereby said ear will be properly gripped at the butt Where it Will be bitten through.

2. A shredding machine for corn shuoks, means for gripping and carrying the corn ear through said machine, including means for removing the ear of corn from the butt and shredding the shucks thereof, and means adjustable laterally for properly positioning said corn ear with respect to said gripping and carrying means, whereby it Will be gri aped thereby at the junction of the ear an the butt.

3. A. shredding machine for corn sliucks, means for gripping and carrying the corn ear through said machine, including means for removing the ear of corn from the butt and shreddingthe shucks thereof, and adjustable yielding means against which the butt of the corn is adapted to be engaged, so that said butt will cause said means to yield and properly position it with respect to said gripping and carrying means, whereby the cern will be gripped and severed at the junction between the ear and the butt.

4. A shredding machine for corn shuc-ks, means for gripping and carrying the corn ear through said machine, iiicludin'g means for removing the ear of corn from the butt and shredding'the shucks thereof, and a. jaw in which the butt of the corn is adapted to be inserted. for holding and positioning said corn ear in proper position to be engaged by said gripping and carrying means at the junction of the ear and butt thereof.

5. .ln a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of a feeding jaw comprising two pivoted jaw members between Which the buttof the corn is adapted to be placed, and yield ing means for yieldingly holding said inemv bers together for clamping said butt of corn and maintaining it in proper position to be fed into said machine.

6. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the kears from the butts thereof, and meansfor shredding the shuoks from said ears, of a feeding means, including two jaw members pivotally mountedY on said machine, means for adjusting said jaw members laterally with respect to said feeding means, and yielding means for permitting said jaws to open under pressure, whereby upon the insertion of a rounded butt of corn therein, said j aw will ope-n suliciently to permit the proper positioning of the corn ear with respect to said carrying means.

7. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination With means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from t-he butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of means for feeding the corn ears `into said machine consisting of a bracket mounted on said machine, a j aw comprising a pair orf jaw members pivot-ally mounted tol said bracket, a supporting pan for supporting an ear of corn in position to be inserted between said jaw members, and means for yieldingly maintaining said jaw in closed position, ,whereby the butt end of the ear may be engaged between said members and properly,positioned with respectto said car rying means. l

8. l'n a shueking and shredding machine,

the combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, nfieansV for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of a carrying means for said ears in' cluding an endless chain mounted on sprocket Wheels, and jaw members Xedly secured to each link of said chain having on one side thereof a plurality of impaling members on which the butt of the ear is adapted to be impaled, and means for engagi and impaling the butts, whereby said butts will be retained on said impaling members while passing through said machine.

9. ln a shut-king and shredding machine, the. combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of a carrying means for said ears including an endless chain mounted on sprocket wheels, j aw members fixedly secured to each link of said chain having on one side thereof a plurality of iinpaling members on which the butt of the ear is adapted to be impaled, means for engaging `and iinpaling the butts, whereby said butts will be retained on said impaling members while passing through said machine, and means for engaging and removing said butts from said iinpaling membersv after having passed through said machine.

10. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with. means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of a carrying means for said ears including an endless chain mounted on sprocket wheels, jaw members iiiredly secured to eachlink of said chain, having on one side thereof a plurality of impaling members on which the butt of the ear is adapted to be impaled, means for engaging and impaling the butts, whereby said butts will be retained on said impaling members while passing through said machine, and a bar mounted on said machine adjacent said carrying means in position to engage the butt as said carrying means passes about a sprocket for forcing it from said impaling means.

11. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding the shucks from said ears, of a carrying means for said ears including an endless chain mounted on sprocket wheels, jaw members xedly secured to each link of said chain, having on one side thereof a plurality ofthin sharp teeth ony which the butt of the ear is adapted to be impaled, and a plurality of dull teeth mounted oppositely thereto for gripping said ear and impaling it on said sharp teeth' of the adjacent member, whereby the buttA of the corn will be carried through the machine and be in position to be readily removed from the impaling teeth of-said jaw membern. f

i ,fioa'soa l2. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means-for carrying ears of corn therethrough, meansy forsevering the ears from the butts thereof, and means forV shredding the shucks from said ears, of a-carrying means for said ears,

means for removing the buttl of the corn therefrom, saidl carrying means consisting of means for severing said ear frein said butt andcarrying `said butt through said `machine in such a position that it may be ears, of means for removing the ears from said shucks including` means for opening said shucks, eccentric reciprocatingl meniyber, and means for driving said member whereby it will engage and strike the ear `of vcorn adjacent the butt thereof for knocking it from said butt and shuck.

1d. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means for carrying ears. of corn therethrough, means for severing` the ears from the butts thereof, and meansfor shredding the shucks from said ears, of means for removing the ears from said shucks, including means for opening said sliucks, and an arm pivotally mounted on an eccentric near its engaging end, slidably mounted on said machine at the other end thereof and eccentrically and reciprocatorily operatedfby the rotary motion of said eccentric for striking Vand pulling the ear fromV the butt and forcingit from the chuck.

15. In a shucking and shredding machine, the combination with means for carrying ears of corn therethrough, means for severing the ears from the butts thereof, and means for shredding vthe shucks from said ears, of means for removing the ears from said shucks, including means for opening said shucks, a revolving disk, and an engaging arm eccentrically pivoted on said disk, said engaging arm being provided with a slot in one end for embracing and sliding upon a fixed member of said machine and provided with a downwardly turned striking end for strikingr the ear of'corn adjacent the butt thereof with an eccentric and reciprocating motion, whereby said ear will be broken from the butt and pulled away therefrom and forced out' of theshuck.

In witness whereof,l I have hereunto affixed my signature.

GEORGE A, LOWRY. 

